Fruit growth and development of small-fruit dwarf mutant in Japanese persimmon ( Diospyros kaki Thunb.).

摘要

Fruit size is one of the most important traits affecting the economical value of fruit. In persimmon, somatic mutation that affects fruit traits is frequently observed. Recently, a small-fruit mutant, 'Totsutanenashi' (TTN), which originated from one of the leading cultivars 'Hiratanenashi' (HTN) in Japan, was discovered. In this report, we characterized the differences of fruit growth and development between TTN and HTN. The fruit size of TTN was consistently lower than that of HTN at all fruit developmental stages. TTN fruits had a higher sugar content and a higher proportion of sucrose to total sugars than HTN fruit. TTN fruits contained lower levels of secondary metabolites, such as soluble tannins and ascorbate, than HTN fruits. The observation of fruit color changes and the measurement of fruit softening indicated that TTN fruits mature earlier than HTN fruits. These results suggest that the fruit size mutation also affects the fruit biochemistry, leading to alterations in the fruit flesh composition and fruit maturation.